Baltimore to Albany drive: 24 ranked stops, break in Howell Township

Upscale regional Italian trattoria in a stylishly rustic setting, making fresh pastas and farm-to-table dishes with local ingredients. Order: Fresh pasta.

Routinely ranked Maryland's best public course, Bulle Rock hosted the LPGA Championship from 2005 to 2009. Dye stretched it across rolling farmland with dramatic elevation and his trademark hazards.

Longtime riverfront favorite with seafood staples, a raw bar, upscale fare and cocktails right on the Christina River. Order: Raw bar platter.

The 1732 courthouse is the literal center of a 12-mile-radius arc that still defines the Delaware-Pennsylvania border today -- stand in the building and you're standing at the geometric origin of a state boundary. Outside, the cobblestone Green (laid out by Peter Stuyvesant in 1655) and colonial streetscape make this one of the best-preserved small historic

Elevated gastrobar with a chef-driven menu and original hand-crafted cocktails focused on high-quality seasonal ingredients. Order: Chef's burger.

A busy public course in the suburbs.

A classic city municipal course.

Daniel Boulud's elegant Upper East Side flagship serving refined contemporary French cuisine in a formal, jacket-recommended dining room. Order: Tasting menu.

the cathedral rebuilt — Monument Park, the façade, and the weight of all that history

Barcelona-inspired tapas bar bringing lively Spanish small plates, jamon and gin tonics to the Upper East Side and beyond. Order: Patatas bravas.

Built around illustrator Howard Pyle and his student N.C. Wyeth (godfather of the Brandywine School of American illustration), plus the largest Pre-Raphaelite art collection outside the UK -- a surprising, story-rich stop that most road-trippers wouldn't expect to find in Wilmington.

the rowdiest crowd in baseball, the Liberty Bell, and a cheesesteak worth the line

Legendary East Harlem red-sauce institution since 1896 with famously impossible-to-book tables passed down among regulars. Order: Lemon chicken.

The du Pont family's original 1802 gunpowder works on the Brandywine -- walk between reconstructed powder yards, a working 19th-century machine shop, and the family's first American home, all on 235 riverside acres. The origin story of the entire du Pont/Brandywine Valley dynasty that also built Winterthur and Nemours, so it anchors the corridor rather than

Clubby 1885 chophouse with clay pipes on the ceiling. (Midtown)

Alfred I. du Pont's 1910 gift to his second wife: a 77-room French neoclassical chateau modeled on Versailles and the Petit Trianon, fronted by the longest formal allee of fountains in North America -- the 'American Versailles' story is an easy, vivid hook for road-trippers.

Rhinebeck mainstay celebrating Hudson Valley Mediterranean cooking with seasonal menus and thin-crust Skizza flatbreads showcasing nearby farms. Order: Skizza flatbread.